Every few years there’s news coverage on a young, assumed-healthy athlete, who suddenly dies on the field or court. Sometimes the tragedy even happens right in front of the players’ teammates, coaches and parents. Later, the autopsy often reveals a previously undetected heart condition like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, leaving many to wonder, “Why didn’t we know about this problem sooner?”

To help, Boston Children’s Hospital researchers are working on revamping current methods to screen for potential heart problems in young athletes—without adding huge expenses or time burdens to existing techniques. …